Bethlehem Looks Gift Horse In The Mouth

May 02, 1995|by THOMAS KUPPER And M. FLOYD HALL, The Morning Call

The state gave Bethlehem $150,000 for the controversial Sand Island Ice House yesterday -- but there's a big catch.

To keep the money, the city must put up $150,000 in matching funds. And Mayor Ken Smith's plan to get the money -- as part of a multimillion-dollar bond issue -- was voted down by a City Council panel last month.

The full council will look at that bond issue in the next few weeks, and Smith said councilmen may be more receptive to putting money into the Ice House now that the state money is in the picture.

"My feeling is that it's very hard to turn your back on a $150,000 gift," he said. "We will look pretty hard around the community before we give that money back."

The money comes from the state's Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, which is also called KEY '93. Gov. Tom Ridge also announced a grant of $20,000 to Northampton County to plan for a park near Weaversville.

Bethlehem's grant means that the City Council's approval is the primary obstacle to finishing the conversion of the once-dilapidated Ice House into a year-round recreation and performing arts center, city Community Development Director Carl DiCello said.

"I look at this as a positive sign that might help council to make up their minds to maintain (the bond issue funding)," DiCello said.

If council doesn't relent, Smith said, he'll look for funding from foundations or other community groups.

The city's plan is to renovate the Ice House and use it for recreation department programs and performances by a consortium of performing arts groups that include Godfrey Daniels, Mock Turtle Marionette Theater, Pennsylvania Youth Theatre and Touchstone Theatre.

It has already cost $442,000, including $83,000 in city money, to stabilize the building so it wouldn't collapse and to begin renovations. The city estimates that it will cost between $505,000 and $655,000 to finish.

Some councilmen say the city can't afford to spend more, particularly given the recent financial trauma at the city landfill. Council's parks committee voted 2-1 against a plan to borrow $250,000 for the Ice House last month.

"There's no question that what you've presented would be a major asset to the community," Councilman James Delgrosso said then. "The major thing is the financial aspect of it."

Smith said he's scaling back his borrowing plans as his administration gets its bond approval proposal into shape. The city originally planned to borrow $3.8 million this year, but Smith said his proposal will be closer to $3 million.

The reduction could include a cut in the money allocated to the Ice House, but Smith said he will ask council to approve at least the $150,000 the city needs to match the KEY '93 money.

Larry Williamson, director of the state Department of Community Affairs bureau that administers KEY '93, said the city will need to have funding in place in the next few months for DCA to move forward with the grant.

"In about two to three months there will be a critical period where they have to decide whether to go ahead with the project," Williamson said.

KEY '93 is a $50 million fund that provides state funding to local governments to plan, acquire, rehabilitate and develop public park, recreation and conservation facilities. Ridge announced a total of $6.3 million yesterday in grants for 151 municipalities.

Northampton County's $20,000 grant will go to its Department of Parks and Recreation to develop plans for a planned large multi-use park outside Weaversville.

At 215 acres, the park would be the county's largest, taking up more than a quarter of the old Allentown State Hospital Farm site. The farm system, which for decades produced food for the state's psychiatric hospital system, was dismantled in the 1980s.

Last year, the county and East Allen Township won approval to purchase two neighboring tracts under the state's Surplus Property Disposition Plan, which enables municipal agencies to buy land at half of fair market value. The price tag for the county site has previously been placed at around $400,000.

The county already has $1.1 million set aside for park use under the Joint Planning Commission of Lehigh-Northampton Counties "Parks 2000" plan. The money was part of a $8.5 million bond issue the county put out in 1992.

East Allen's proposal to purchase roughly 30 acres meanwhile is on hold. Another section of the state farm site -- 172 acre site north of Route 329 at Walnut Street -- meanwhile has been set aside for the Northampton Area School District for a new school.

County officials yesterday were unavailable to discuss potential plans for the park. In the past, they have envisioned horse riding, archery, cross-country skiing, fishing and picnicking, among other activities.

The county originally proposed buying just 80 acres on the south side of East Bullhead Road around the old stone farmhouse known as the Atlas Cement property. It later expanded its request to take a large tract on the north side of the road and another tract to the rear of the first.

The site also includes an access corridor reaching out to Weaversville above the existing farm buildings at Colony Drive.